Ereporting Striped Bass

Striped Bass Pilot Project

ORP collaborated with the Maryland Department of Natural Resources (MDNR), Versar, Electric Edge Systems Group, Council Fire and other organizations to develop a pilot program to test the effectiveness of the daily electronic harvest reporting system within the commercial striped bass fishing industry beginning in the fall of 2014.

Why Striped Bass?

After determining through the blue crab pilot project, that an electronic harvest reporting system could be used effectively within a commercial industry, the state decided that it needed to be tested on an individual quota management basis. Testing the FACTSTM system within the striped bass industry allowed fishery managers to see how the system would account for a new form of quota management. Considering that striped bass is the only commercial fishery within Maryland that requires harvest to be “checked” at a check station, testing the use of this system within this industry also allowed managers to see the ability for FACTSTM to record a verification process by check stations.

Time Frame

The pilot program ran from November through the beginning of March, accounting for an extension in the Striped bass fishing season due to inclement weather conditions.

Training

Group training sessions were scheduled the week of November 10th 2014 in Prince Frederick, Columbia, Easton and Grasonville to account for the geographic range of the pilot participants. One-on-One training sessions were scheduled within the following weeks for any interested watermen who were unable to attend the training sessions during that week.

Participation

During the pilot, 17 watermen used the FACTS TM system to report approximately 180 trips which were checked in by 8 check stations using the FACTSTM system.

Incentives

Those watermen that elected to report their harvest using the electronic reporting system FACTSTM were given two incentives: the ability to check in their harvest on their second day of fishing (combining both trips harvest) and the ability to allow an authorized representative to check in their catch.

Feedback

Throughout the pilot project, participant feedback was collected through targeted feedback calls and voluntary feedback collected at training sessions, outreach events or via the provided help line. After the completion of the pilot, a feedback meeting was held to collect answers to a feedback survey as well as any additional feedback comments. Feedback was discussed as potential system modifications to modify the reporting system to best suit the watermen’s needs.